Social politics: Dodging partisan punches on the Web

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can feel like a virtual boxing ring with political punches being thrown through cyberspace as the upcoming election looms.

Amanda Memrick

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can feel like a virtual boxing ring with political punches being thrown through cyberspace as the upcoming election looms.

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Using social media as an online soap box is causing some virtual friends to part ways, at least until after the election. Eighteen percent of those using social networking sites have blocked, unfriended or hidden someone because of political posts, according to a survey conducted this spring by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

‘I have a right not to see it’

Bessemer City business owner Roxanne Mason, 55, said she doesn’t unsubscribe from someone just because they hold a different view. She chooses not to see the posts of people who insult others or are vicious with their political attacks, but doesn’t unsubscribe from someone who presents their side reasonably.

“They have the right to believe that way,” Mason said. “And I have the right not to have to see it.”

Jonathan Fletcher, 20, of Stanley has been unfriended by three people since the primary process started last year because of his conservative Republican stance. He knows that others have hidden his posts from their Facebook news feeds because of his outspoken views.

“I have been involved in politics since I was 12 years old (of my own choosing) so it is a very big part of who I am. I have friends that avoid talking about politics with me, and I am fine with that,” Fletcher wrote via email. “But for those that unfriend me entirely over politics, it is as though they don’t accept who I am as a person or they don't accept the things that are important to me.”

Ashley Barlowe Whitlock is a liberal and noticed she’s been unfriended by some Republicans because she sees their posts on mutual friends’ pages.

“I tend to choose my political ‘arguments’ carefully, as it can become very easy to get involved in a ‘debate’ with a person who just wants to spew hate and regurgitate propaganda rather than exhibit original thoughts and viewpoints," Whitlock wrote on Facebook. “This will be my fourth presidential election since I have been old enough to vote, and I have found it to be the one that has brought out the most hate from people, made them the most sensitive and the one where people have shown the most disrespect for our president that I've ever witnessed.”

Putdown posts

Jen Warshawsky said she wouldn’t unfriend someone for their beliefs even if she disagrees with their views.

“The world would be a boring place if we all agreed on everything,” Warshawsky wrote on Facebook. “I like debating issues, and I like to learn from other people. What discourages me is the hateful, intolerant language spewing forth from others who cannot tolerate differing viewpoints. Calling someone an idiot for their views is unacceptable and borders on bullying.”

David Turner said he has been blocking Republican friends since the summer and began unsubscribing and blocking even more in the last few months, adding a Facebook post that said: “To all of my Republican friends, I love you all…but we need to not see each other for now. I look forward to seeing you again Nov. 7.”

Turner blocked a childhood friend that he reconnected with over Facebook because of their political clashes. He plans to unblock that friend and others once the election is over.

Turner’s wife, Karen Turner, has hidden political posts from family because her political views were causing friction in the family.

Politics on social media here to stay

Politics won’t be disappearing from Facebook or other social media sites any time soon, said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project.

Judith Kallos, owner of netmanners.com and an online etiquette expert, said the people feel like the computer screen is a shield that allows them to spout things they’d never say to someone if they were face to face.

Her advice on Facebook etiquette is the same guidance you’d hear about discussing sex, religion and politics in the middle of the room at a party:

“If you wouldn’t do this in a room full of these people, why are you doing it on Facebook?” Kallos asked.

The majority of people aren’t rearranging their social networks to avoid people with differing political views.

“Most of the time when people encounter people that they don’t agree with, they just ignore it,” Rainier said.

Just because some people are opting to avoid political talk they disagree with doesn’t mean the majority are choosing to surround themselves only with people who think like they do.

“Social networks are fairly diverse by political views,” Rainier said. “Our big takeaway from all of this is that the echo chamber problem that people worry about, that’s not going on.”

You can reach reporter Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839 or follow @AmandaMemrick on Twitter.